Are we really 'Boston Strong'?

Sunday

Apr 20, 2014 at 5:00 AMApr 20, 2014 at 8:44 PM

By Chris BergeronDaily News ServiceBOSTON - Are the lives of the people killed or injured in the Boston Marathon bombing more valuable and newsworthy than others murdered by gun violence on the city’s streets?In a provocative exhibit titled "Boston Strong?" three artists ask discomforting questions about how the media and corporate world treats high-profile victims while ignoring others, seemingly based on race and poverty.Timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Marathon bombing, the exhibit is cosponsored by the Community Church of Boston that is providing space in its second-floor Lothrop Auditorium at 565 Boylston St., just a block from the race’s finish line.Artists Shea Justice, Darrell Ann Gane-McCalla and Jason Pramas are exhibiting work to "spark public discussion about the meaning of the popular Boston Strong slogan.’’They hope their art calls attention to the disparity between positive coverage and donations to Marathon victims "many of whom are white and live outside of Boston’’ and sparser reportage about victims of gun violence, many of whom are people of color living in the city’s poorer neighborhoods.While the One Fund distributed more than $70 million to more than 230 Marathon victims, they ask why no such fund has been established for victims of gun violence."We hope our work encourages conversations that haven’t been happening since the bombing,’’ said Pramas, a photojournalist who publishes Open Media Boston, an online news weekly serving the area. "We want people to inquire how the media and corporate world prioritizes lives.’’As of mid-week, Pramas, an adjunct professor of communications at Lesley University, said 50 people have died in Boston from gun violence between the 2013 and 2014 Mrathons.The exhibit runs from April 15 to April 22 with four public viewings and visits by appointment. Pramas hopes to "take it on the road’’ to area venues after the Marathon.A Boston native who teaches art in Lincoln-Sudbury, Justice is showing large pen-and-ink drawings and collages contrasting images of residents and street with newspaper headlines that seem to perpetuate stereotypes.In a striking drawing of police technicians at a crime scene, he incorporates text from local newspapers such as "The suspects were identified as dark skinned males’’ and "He was wearing a hoodie’’ above an image of a dead black male.As if to contrast positive images of Marathon victims, Justice is showing a dramatic photo montage built around a black male on a morgue gurney surrounded by a mix of figures from the murder of Emmett Till to the movie "Billy Jack.’’A Cambridge native who uses her art to promote social justice, Gane-McCalla is showing charcoal sketches made on newspaper collage.One collage, titled "Boston Massacre,’’ juxtaposes drawings of runners and sneakers hanging in tribute with a picture of a pistol and a headline that reads, "Infant, teen dad hit by bullet in Roxbury.’’Another work juxtaposes images of Marathoners and black children with newspaper headlines about rising consumer prices, a slow police response to a 911 call and a shooting in "a trouble prone area.’’Likely the most overtly political of the trio, Pramas has constructed a conceptual installation to honor victims of gun violence along with his research he hopes will prompt questions about the motives of some of the One Fund’s largest corporate donors.All three artists expressed compassion for the Marathon victims and MIT police officer Sean Collier, allegedly murdered by the bombers, brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev."We’re critical of the media for focusing so exclusively on (Marathon victims) while ignoring victims of violence who had their own lives and families,’’ said Pramas.His installation comprises 50 electric candles for the victims of street violence set in front of a projection of the words "Boston Strong’’ on a screen.When a viewer approaches the installation, their body blocks the light projecting the slogan to reveal the most current number of city residents killed by firearms.In display cases beside the installation, Pramas is showing documents about five corporations and one nonprofit that each donated more than $1 million to the One Fund: Liberty Mutual Group, Bain Capital, AT&T, John Hancock/ Manulife, New Balance and Partners Healthcare.Despite their seeming beneficence, he states two of the biggest donors consistently lobbied against national health care while the others variously supported policies about jobs, housing and unionization that "hurt working families in Boston and beyond in one way or another.’’Reversing the popular slogan, Pramas said, "If Boston really wants to be ‘strong,’ the corporations and folks giving to One Fund might think how they can help the city be a great place to live for all residents’’ and not just Marathon victims.To learn about Boston Strong?, visit www.questionbostonstrong.com. Chris Bergeron is a Daily News staff writer. Contact him at cbergeron@wickedlocal.com or 508-626-4448. Follow us on Twitter @WickedLocalArts and on Facebook.